This will probably come as a tremendous shock to many of you but the S. Pellegrino List of the Top 100 Restaurants in the World for 2010 has just been released and there are none in the Philly/South Jersey area. That’s a little embarrassing when you consider that there are THREE restaurants in Russia that made the list!

I have to confess I have never been to ANY of them. I guess my wallet keeps me firmly grounded in our local BYOB’s, and that’s ok with me, too. Here are a few little tidbits from the list. El Bulli, in Spain has held down the top spot for the past four years. It has now been knocked out of first place by a restaurant in Copenhagen, Denmark called NOMA which last year, finished third. Rene Redzepi is the Chef at Noma which means “Nordic food”. El Bulli is now second while The Fat Duck, in the town of Bray, outside London, holds third place.

The highest ranked American restaurant on the list is Alinea in Chicago. The biggest climb by any restaurant on the list was made by Daniel, the New York eatery jumped from 41st last year to 8th place in the latest rankings. The French Laundry, which many consider the USA’s top dining spot fell 20 places this year from 12th to 32nd.

It’s really hard to see how anyone could actually compile a list like this as it is all so subjective. Everyone loves a good list though, so enjoy this one for what it’s worth. Start phoning now and within the next decade you might be able to book a table at one of these culinary temples that can be found listed here.